Attempts to overcome the cytoprotective effects of Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L) and Mcl-1 in cancer include several different strategies (as reviewed in [17]): (i) shutting off gene transcription, (ii) inducing mRNA degradation with antisense oligonucleotides [18], and (iii) directly attacking the proteins with small-molecule drugs [19-21]. The gene discussed is MCL1; the disease is cancer.